Jet suction device



March 30, 1965 B. L. CHEELY JET SUCTION DEVICE Filed March 22, 1963 I z l I 2 BURL L. CHEELY INVENTOR.

%M VQAM/ ATTORNEYS United States Patent ice 3,175,515 JET SUCTION DEVICE Burl L. Cheely, 3534 W. Rosecrans, Hawthorne, Calif. Filed Mar. 22, 1963, er. No. 267,244 2 Claims. (Cl. 103-262) This invention has to do generally with jet suction devices and particularly with such devices as are useful for moving a mixture of rocks, sand and gravel using water as the fluid medium, such as in stripping such materials from a stream bed in placer mining operations.

An object of the invention is to provide a new and improved, jet or injection type suction device designed for use in moving solids such as sand and gravel entrained in a liquid medium such as water.

Another object is to provide a highly eflicient device of the type indicated which produces a relatively high vacuum in the suction tube portion of the device capable of flowing a mixture of liquid and solids with a very high percentage of solids.

A further object is to provide a novel construction in which the parts can be easily assembled or readily removed for replacement, and to provide a construction wherein the jet orifice can be adjusted in several different ways.

Another object is to provide a durable, efi'icient and relatively light-weight device.

These and other objects will be apparent from the drawing and the following description.

Referring to the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view, somewhat diagrammatic, of apparatus embodying the invention shown in a typical environment;

FIG. 2 is a central longitudinal sectional View through a device embodying the invention; and

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view on line 33 of FIG. 2.

More particularly describing the invention, as previously indicated, the jet suction device, designated 11, is designed particularly for raising sand and gravel from a stream bed in placer mining operations, although it may be used for other purposes. Thus, as shown in FIG. 1, the device 11 is normally located relatively close to the surface of the water 12 of a stream and is provided with a suction hose 13 of desired length leading to the stream bed. A motor-driven pump unit 15 is shown on a float 16 and this supplies water under pressure to the unit 11 through a hose 18. The device 11 discharges the material picked up from the stream bed and the water into a flow control box 20 at the head of a sluice 21, the latter two elements being supported upon a series of floats 16.

Referring more particularly to the details of construction as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the unit 11 includes a housing consisting of two main housing members, namely an upstream housing member and a downstream housing member 26. These members are provided with flanges 27 and 28 respectively and the parts are secured together by bolts 30 passing through the flanges, a suitable gasket 31 being provided.

The upstream housing member 25 is annular in shape and is provided with an outer wall 33 having an inlet opening or port 34. The member has an end wall 35 and an inner or re'entrant wall 36 which is cylindrical and which, together with the outer Wall 33, defines an annular chamber 37 which is open at its downstream end.

The downstream housing member 26 comprises an upstream section 38 which is characterized by frusto-conical or conoidal inner surface 39 which diverges in the direction upstream to a diameter substantially equal to the inner diameter of the wall 33 of housing member 25. The member 26 has a downstream cylindrical section or end portion 40 having an internal diameter substan- 3,175,515 Patented Mar. 30, 1965 tially the same as the internal diameter of wall 36 of the other housing member.

A suction tube 42 is mounted in the upstream housing member 25 and projects into the downstream housing member nearly to the small diameter end of the conoidal face 39. The suction tube is held in place by an annular ring 43 which is secured to the housing 25 by screws 44. The ring serves to compress a seal ring 45 of neoprene or other suitable material between it, tube 42 and housing member 25, the seal ring being partially received within a recess 46 defined by the suction tube and a flared section 47 of the inner wall 36 of the housing member.

A discharge tube 50 is mounted in the end portion 40 of housing member 26 and is secured there by an annular ring 51, bolts 52 passing through the ring and threaded into the housing member, and by a seal ring 53 provided between ring 51, tube 50 and section 40 of housing member 26. The wall or section 40 is provided with an outwardly beveled end wall 54 to accommodate the ring. It is desirable to provide a recess 56 in the housing member 26 at the small diameter end of the conoidal section or face 39 to receive a wear-resistant ring 57. The latter has an annular groove 58 to receive the inner end of the discharge tube so that the latter is positioned outside a projection of the face 39 inside the tube.

It will be apparent that with the suction tube 42 adjusted so that its inner end 42' is spaced from the surface or face 39, an annular orifice 60 is formed furnishing an outlet for pressure fluid introduced through port 34 into chamber 37. The pressure fluid passing through the orifice tends to form a cone 61 within the discharge tube and forms in effect a perfect aqueous seal which moves out the discharge tube thereby inducing a relatively high vacuum in the suction tube 42. The size of orifice 60 can be adjusted by moving the suction tube 42 axially within the housing member 25 or by means of various sized gaskets placed between the flanges 27 and 28 of the two housing members. In actual practice I have found that as high as solids can be moved in a stream of water through the device. In operation, the device can be used as shown in FIG. 1 and previously described; however it is also etfective for other uses and can be used at any angle.

The parts of the housing may be cast of any suitable metal, such as steel, bronze, aluminum or the like and it will be apparent that the device is easily assembled and disassembled, enabling easy replacement of parts.

Although I have shown and described preferred forms of my invention, I contemplate that various changes and modifications can be made therein without departing from the invention, the scope of which is indicated by the following claims.

I claim:

1. A jet suction device comprising an annular, openended housing having an intermediate section with a conoidal inner face, a suction tube mounted in said housing and extending therein from the upstream end of the housing beyond the large-diameter upstream end of said inner face through said intermediate section substantially to the small-diameter downstream end of said inner face, said housing having an annular inner wall extending for a substantial distance inwardly of the housing from the upstream end thereof and closely receiving and support ing said suction tube, said housing and suction tube together defining a high pressure liquid chamber, said housing having an inlet to said chamber, and a discharge tube mounted in said housing beyond and in axial alignment with said suction tube, said suction tube and said conoidal inner face of said intermediate section of said housing 3, I defining an annular orifice for escape of pressure liquid 'from said chamber into said discharge tube, said suction tube being adjustable axially in said housing to vary the size of said orifice.

2. A jet'suction device, comprising an annular upstream housing member having spaced inner and outer walls defining an annular chamber open at the downstream end of the member, an annular downstream housing member attached to the downstream end of said upstream housing member, said downstream housing member having a downstream end portion in axial alignment with the inner wall of said upstream housing member and having an upstream end portion provided with a conoidal face diverging in a direction upstream, a suction tube mounted in the inner Wall of said upstream housing member and extending into the upstream end portion of the downstream housing member, said suction tube together with said upstream end of said downstream housing member forming a continuation of said annular chamber and defining an annular orifice at the small-diameter end of References Qited by the Examiner V i V V UNITED STATES PATENTS 334,597 1/86 Marsh l03-267 894,758 7/08 Starre 103-264 1,806,287 5/31 Forrest 103-262 1,854,098 4/32 Black 103263 2,444,615 7/48 Reinhardt -103-267 LAURENCE v. EFNER, Primary Examiner. WARREN E. COLEMAN, Examiner. 

1. A JET SUCTION DEVICE COMPRISING AN ANNULAR, OPENENDED HOUSING HAVING AN INTERMEDIATE SECTION WITH A CONOIDAL INNER FACE, A SUCTION TUBE MOUNTED IN SAID HOUSING AND EXTENDING THEREIN FROM THE UPSTREAM END OF THE HOUSING BEYOND THE LARGE-DIAMETER UPSTREAM END OF SAID INNER FACE THROUGH SAID INTERMEDIATE SECTION SUBSTANTIALLY TO THE SMALL-DIAMETER DOWNSTREAM END OF SAID INNER FACE, SAID HOUSING HAVING AN ANNULAR INNER WALL EXTENDING FOR A SUBSTANTIAL DISTANCE INWARDLY INNER WALL EXTENDING FOR UPSTREAM END THEREOF AND CLOSELY RECEIVING AND SUPPORTING SAID SUCTION TUBE, SAID HOUSING AND SUCTION TUBE TOGETHER DEFINING A HIGH PRESSURE LIQUID CHAMBER, SAID HOUSING HAVING AN INLET TO SAID CHAMBER, AND A DISCHARGE TUBE MOUNTED IN SAID HOUSING BEYOND AND IN AXIAL ALIGNMENT WITH SAID SUCTION TUBE, SUCTION TUBE AND SAID CONOIDAL INNER FACE OF SAID INTERMEDIATE SECTION OF SAID HOUSING DEFINING AN ANNULAR ORIFICE FOR ESCAPE OF PRESSURE LIQUID FROM SAID CHAMBER INTO SAID DISCHARGE TUBE, SAID SUCTION TUBE BEING ADJUSTABLE AXIALLY IN SAID HOUSING TO VARY THE SIZE OF SAID ORIFICE. 